Monitoring of coastal water quality and reef status for the Douglas Shire Water Quality Improvement Project: 2004-05

The Douglas Shire Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) was established to assist the Shire and its residents in maintaining the health of regional marine habitats bordering the Shire through adoption of land use practices which minimize runoff of sediment, nutrients and other pollutants into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.This report provides a summary of current and historical water quality and reef coral cover data collected by AIMS and Sea Research in the Douglas Shire region. It provides a summary of both the current state of coastal water quality and reefs in the Douglas Shire region, and historical data showing the extent of natural variability in these characteristics and what trends are occurring.The AIMS Long-term Monitoring Project has been undertaking surveys of regional reefs since 1985 to follow changes in coral cover and track the abundance of crown-of-thorns starfish. Results of all of these surveys can be viewed on: http://www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring. Additional surveys of nearshore coastal reefs in Douglas Shire have been carried out by Sea Research, a local environmental consultancy firm with funding from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).The AIMS Biological Oceanography Group carried out twice-yearly surveys of water quality off Douglas Shire and Cairns since 1989. This sampling program provides the longest and most comprehensive monitoring of water quality in Great Barrier Reef coastal waters at that time. For the Douglas Shire WQIP, these surveys were augmented by water quality sampling at seven coastal reefs sites over sixteen months, including two wet seasons.

道格拉斯郡水质改善项目（Water Quality Improvement Project, WQIP）旨在协助该郡及其居民维护郡域毗邻区域海洋生境的健康，通过优化土地利用实践，最大限度减少沉积物、营养盐及其他污染物向大堡礁潟湖（Great Barrier Reef lagoon）的径流排放。
本报告汇总了澳大利亚海洋科学研究所（Australian Institute of Marine Science, AIMS）与海洋研究（Sea Research）在道格拉斯郡区域采集的当前及历史水质、珊瑚礁覆盖率数据。报告既概述了道格拉斯郡近岸水质与珊瑚礁的现状，也呈现了反映这些特征自然变化范围及现有趋势的历史数据。
澳大利亚海洋科学研究所长期监测项目自1985年起便对区域珊瑚礁开展调查，以追踪珊瑚覆盖率变化及长棘海星（crown-of-thorns starfish）的种群丰度。所有调查结果均可通过以下网址查阅：http://www.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring。道格拉斯郡近岸珊瑚礁的补充调查由本地环境咨询公司海洋研究（Sea Research）执行，项目资金由大堡礁海洋公园管理局（Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, GBRMPA）提供。
澳大利亚海洋科学研究所生物海洋学小组自1989年起，每年对道格拉斯郡与凯恩斯附近海域开展两次水质调查。该采样项目是当时大堡礁近岸海域水质监测中时长最长、覆盖最全面的方案。针对道格拉斯郡水质改善项目（WQIP），研究团队在16个月内（包含两个雨季）对7处近岸珊瑚礁站点增设了水质采样工作。